International
Energy firms call for central bank support to cover margin spikes
Trade body warns energy market participants risk being unable to meet “unprecedented margin requirements”
Book notes: Shutdown, by Adam Tooze
A useful, wide-ranging overview, showing how health and economic policies are intimately intertwined with geopolitics
Some CCPs could struggle to cover major losses – FSB
Cyber attack could pose serious problems for systemically important CCPs, report finds
BIS paper finds benefits from ‘deconstructing’ ESG scores
“Best-in-class” strategy can overcome problems with other approaches, authors say
Reciprocity can curb macro-prudential ‘leakages’ – BIS paper
But gains can be small, which may explain limited use of reciprocity to date, authors say
Markus Brunnermeier on the need for CBDCs
The Princeton academic co-authored a paper for the European Parliament exploring the potential pitfalls of CBDCs. But they are still needed, he says
Latin American dollar debts could cause systemic risk, paper says
Authors say the Fed risks a major policy mistake if it ignores the wider impact of tighter US policy
Outsider arts: how Russia might adapt to sanctions
The history of the USSR and actions by other sanctioned countries may give clues to Russia’s next moves
Rethinking sovereign risk
‘Risk-free’ assets now include the possibility of complete confiscation with no recourse
Global markets show signs of strain as Russia sanctions bite
Flight to safe havens is starting to create tensions in dollar funding markets
Emerging economies ‘remarkably’ resilient to Fed tightening, BIS says
Many EME currencies have appreciated, but Turkish lira and Russian ruble are notable exceptions
BIS paper estimates slack in Mexico’s informal labour market
Calculating Nairu is challenging given large unregulated sector, authors say
BIS targets green bond growth with launch of Asian fund
“We expect a fast-growing market for green bonds,” says BIS banking head Peter Zöllner
Commodity prices rise sharply after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Energy prices already account for around 50% of headline inflation in the eurozone
Banks still falling short of final Basel III requirements
Basel Committee says some metrics seem to have been impacted by Covid-19
Stablecoin risks raise need for CBDC research – Brainard
ECB’s Panetta says “stablecoins are not money”, as Brainard weighs CBDC as possible alternative
Risk Management Benchmarks 2022 – executive summary
Insights on risk priorities among central banks and how they are changing
BIS paper finds real links matter for asset price co-movement
Real economic integration may be more important than previously thought, authors say
Book notes: Imagining the Fed, by Nicolas Thompson
A worthwhile perspective on the evolution of such an important institution, but a shame that it isn’t a longer and broader examination
IMF paper finds falling r* should eventually reverse
Authors say several policies could be used to push natural rate back up
FSB warns of rising crypto asset risks
Sector could harm global financial stability if it carries on growing at current rate, FSB says
Change at the Bundesbank: from Weidmann to Nagel?
Joachim Nagel’s appointment highlights the importance of politics at the apex of German central banking. Veteran central bank watcher Klaus C Engelen looks at the media reaction and asks if Buba/ECB discord is set to continue
US Treasury opposes ending IMF surcharges
Biden administration rejects initiative championed by Democratic progressives
Podcast: fixing the gaps in fintech laws
Fintech is reshaping the nature of contracts and even financial firms themselves, but laws are not adapting so fast, say IMF lawyers José Garrido and Juan Sebastián Viancha Trujillo